For the Few: How Formula One Shuts Out the Working Class
The Growing Divide in F1’s Fanbase
Formula 1 markets itself as a global sport, accessible to millions, yet in reality, it remains an elite and exclusionary world. Historically, motorsport was considered aspirational, a competition where the most talented drivers and engineers could rise to the top. However, the increasing commercialisation of the sport has made it less accessible to both fans and aspiring drivers from working-class backgrounds. The financial barriers in F1 have created a disconnect between the sport and many of its followers, turning a once more inclusive fanbase into a luxury-driven spectacle.
From the cost of attending races to the near impossibility of working-class drivers breaking into the grid, Formula 1 has evolved into a sport where wealth dictates participation. Unlike football, where a child with a ball can aspire to play at the highest level, F1 is inherently tied to financial privilege. The question arises: can F1 ever be a sport for everyone, or is it destined to remain a billionaire’s playground?
From the cost of attending races to the near impossibility of working-class drivers breaking into the grid, Formula 1 has evolved into a sport where wealth dictates participation. Unlike football, where a child with a ball can aspire to play at the highest level, F1 is inherently tied to financial privilege. The question arises: can F1 ever be a sport for everyone, or is it destined to remain a billionaire’s playground?
The Cost of Being an F1 Fan
The financial barriers to being an F1 fan are increasingly difficult to ignore.
Attending a Race is Unaffordable for Many. Ticket prices for major races such as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone or the Monaco Grand Prix are often prohibitively expensive. General admission alone can cost hundreds of pounds, while grandstand seating runs into the thousands. The Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 saw ticket packages reach upwards of £5,000, pricing out the majority of ordinary fans. The cost of attending an F1 race extends far beyond entry fees. Food and drinks inside the circuit are notoriously overpriced, with basic meals often costing upwards of £15 and a pint of beer frequently exceeding £10. For those staying overnight, camping near the track which was once an affordable way for fans to experience a race weekend, has also become increasingly expensive, with campsites charging premium prices, often reaching several hundred pounds for a basic pitch. Hotels near circuits take advantage of race weekends by inflating prices significantly, making it difficult for average fans to afford multi-day events. As a result, attending a Grand Prix is no longer just a sporting experience but a luxury holiday accessible only to those with disposable income.
In the UK, watching Formula 1 live now requires a Sky Sports subscription, which costs over £40 a month. Before this, F1 was accessible on free-to-air television, allowing casual fans to engage with the sport. Now, working-class fans must choose between financial sacrifice or missing out altogether. Not only is Sky Sports' Monopoly making watching it expensive in the UK, but F1TV Pro is not available in all countries, making streaming difficult for fans in certain regions.
A simple team cap costs over £40, while official teamwear jackets and shirts are priced well over £100. Supporting a team has become a luxury in itself, forcing fans to spend exorbitantly just to visibly engage with the sport. Unlike other sports where teams actively involve local communities, F1 teams have little grassroots engagement, and access to content is often locked behind expensive exclusive memberships and paywalled media. As Formula 1 expands its commercial footprint, it has shifted from a sport driven by passionate grassroots fans to a spectacle tailored to those who can afford the lifestyle. The very people who built F1’s historic fanbase, working-class enthusiasts from motorsport-heavy nations like the UK, Germany, and Italy, are increasingly excluded.
Attending a Race is Unaffordable for Many. Ticket prices for major races such as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone or the Monaco Grand Prix are often prohibitively expensive. General admission alone can cost hundreds of pounds, while grandstand seating runs into the thousands. The Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 saw ticket packages reach upwards of £5,000, pricing out the majority of ordinary fans. The cost of attending an F1 race extends far beyond entry fees. Food and drinks inside the circuit are notoriously overpriced, with basic meals often costing upwards of £15 and a pint of beer frequently exceeding £10. For those staying overnight, camping near the track which was once an affordable way for fans to experience a race weekend, has also become increasingly expensive, with campsites charging premium prices, often reaching several hundred pounds for a basic pitch. Hotels near circuits take advantage of race weekends by inflating prices significantly, making it difficult for average fans to afford multi-day events. As a result, attending a Grand Prix is no longer just a sporting experience but a luxury holiday accessible only to those with disposable income.
In the UK, watching Formula 1 live now requires a Sky Sports subscription, which costs over £40 a month. Before this, F1 was accessible on free-to-air television, allowing casual fans to engage with the sport. Now, working-class fans must choose between financial sacrifice or missing out altogether. Not only is Sky Sports' Monopoly making watching it expensive in the UK, but F1TV Pro is not available in all countries, making streaming difficult for fans in certain regions.
A simple team cap costs over £40, while official teamwear jackets and shirts are priced well over £100. Supporting a team has become a luxury in itself, forcing fans to spend exorbitantly just to visibly engage with the sport. Unlike other sports where teams actively involve local communities, F1 teams have little grassroots engagement, and access to content is often locked behind expensive exclusive memberships and paywalled media. As Formula 1 expands its commercial footprint, it has shifted from a sport driven by passionate grassroots fans to a spectacle tailored to those who can afford the lifestyle. The very people who built F1’s historic fanbase, working-class enthusiasts from motorsport-heavy nations like the UK, Germany, and Italy, are increasingly excluded.
Breaking into F1 is only for the Privileged
The exclusivity of Formula 1 is even more pronounced when considering who gets to participate in the sport. Unlike other major sports, where talent alone can open doors, F1 requires extreme wealth just to enter the junior racing categories. The road to F1 is paved with financial hurdles that make it virtually impossible for working-class drivers to break through. Karting is the entry point for almost every F1 driver, yet even at the lowest level, it requires tens of thousands of pounds per year. To compete at an international level, families must spend upwards of £250,000 annually, effectively shutting out children from lower-income backgrounds.
Drivers like Lance Stroll, whose billionaire father Lawrence Stroll bought the Aston Martin team, ensuring his son always had a seat in F1, regardless of performance, and Nikita Mazepin, whose seat was secured through Russian oligarch money, highlight how family wealth and corporate sponsorship is often more important than talent. Meanwhile, working-class talents struggle to find sponsorship or investment to climb the ranks. Young, talented drivers like Oscar Piastri have struggled to find seats while sponsorship millions have taken priority.
Lewis Hamilton remains one of the only modern F1 drivers to come from a working-class background, with his father working multiple jobs to support his career. However, Hamilton’s journey is an outlier rather than a model for future drivers, as the financial demands of motorsport have only increased since his rise. F1 drivers today are overwhelmingly from affluent or elite backgrounds, reinforcing the notion that the sport is not a meritocracy but rather a competition among the wealthy. Without structural changes, F1 will continue to be a sport where opportunity is reserved for those who can afford it.
Drivers like Lance Stroll, whose billionaire father Lawrence Stroll bought the Aston Martin team, ensuring his son always had a seat in F1, regardless of performance, and Nikita Mazepin, whose seat was secured through Russian oligarch money, highlight how family wealth and corporate sponsorship is often more important than talent. Meanwhile, working-class talents struggle to find sponsorship or investment to climb the ranks. Young, talented drivers like Oscar Piastri have struggled to find seats while sponsorship millions have taken priority.
Lewis Hamilton remains one of the only modern F1 drivers to come from a working-class background, with his father working multiple jobs to support his career. However, Hamilton’s journey is an outlier rather than a model for future drivers, as the financial demands of motorsport have only increased since his rise. F1 drivers today are overwhelmingly from affluent or elite backgrounds, reinforcing the notion that the sport is not a meritocracy but rather a competition among the wealthy. Without structural changes, F1 will continue to be a sport where opportunity is reserved for those who can afford it.
Wealth-Driven Expansion and the Loss of Historic Circuits
The rise of luxury-focused Grand Prix races has come at the cost of losing historic and culturally significant circuits. F1's expansion strategy under Liberty Media has prioritised hosting races in ultra-wealthy states rather than considering the economic and cultural impact that a race could bring to other regions.
The addition of new races in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Miami, and Las Vegas follows a pattern of targeting oil-rich or corporate-backed locations that can afford exorbitant hosting fees. While these countries can pay to secure a Grand Prix, they often have no historic motorsport culture and cater more to wealthy tourists than dedicated racing fans.
Circuits like Hockenheim, Sepang, and even Silverstone have struggled financially because they cannot match the financial backing of government-sponsored races in Gulf states and the US. Even Monaco, an F1 staple, was forced to renegotiate its contract amid threats of being removed from the calendar.
Countries in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia could benefit from an F1 race, yet the sport has not expanded into these areas. A return to South Africa’s Kyalami Circuit has been discussed for years but has yet to materialise, highlighting F1’s reluctance to invest in markets that cannot pay massive hosting fees. While F1 justifies this expansion by claiming it is a global sport, the reality is that it is becoming more exclusive, favouring locations that reinforce its image as a luxury event rather than a genuine sporting competition.
Greed Leads to Disaster: Las Vegas Grand Prix
The addition of new races in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Miami, and Las Vegas follows a pattern of targeting oil-rich or corporate-backed locations that can afford exorbitant hosting fees. While these countries can pay to secure a Grand Prix, they often have no historic motorsport culture and cater more to wealthy tourists than dedicated racing fans.
Circuits like Hockenheim, Sepang, and even Silverstone have struggled financially because they cannot match the financial backing of government-sponsored races in Gulf states and the US. Even Monaco, an F1 staple, was forced to renegotiate its contract amid threats of being removed from the calendar.
Countries in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia could benefit from an F1 race, yet the sport has not expanded into these areas. A return to South Africa’s Kyalami Circuit has been discussed for years but has yet to materialise, highlighting F1’s reluctance to invest in markets that cannot pay massive hosting fees. While F1 justifies this expansion by claiming it is a global sport, the reality is that it is becoming more exclusive, favouring locations that reinforce its image as a luxury event rather than a genuine sporting competition.
One of the most striking examples of F1’s excessive commercialisation was the first Las Vegas Grand Prix under Liberty Media in 2023. Marketed as an ultra-premium event, the race was meant to showcase the glamour of F1’s expansion into the United States. Instead, it became a cautionary tale of corporate greed outweighing sporting integrity.
General admission tickets started at over £1,500, with VIP packages soaring beyond £10,000. Many lifelong F1 fans, particularly those from the US, found themselves priced out in favour of corporate clients and ultra-wealthy spectators who had little connection to the sport.
The event was plagued with issues from the outset. Manhole covers along the circuit caused major safety concerns, leading to extensive delays and a disastrous practice session that left fans feeling cheated. Many ticket holders were even sent home before any meaningful action took place. The focus on luxury entertainment over the racing experience led to widespread backlash. Traditional fans criticised the event as a money-grabbing spectacle, prioritising celebrity endorsements and high-rolling clientele over the actual motorsport competition.
This trend is not unique to Las Vegas. Similar problems have emerged at other newly introduced Grand Prix events, including Miami and Saudi Arabia, where the focus on corporate entertainment overshadows the racing itself. Meanwhile, traditional venues such as Hockenheim (Germany), Sepang (Malaysia), and even the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa have either lost their races or faced financial instability due to F1's preference for wealthier locations.
General admission tickets started at over £1,500, with VIP packages soaring beyond £10,000. Many lifelong F1 fans, particularly those from the US, found themselves priced out in favour of corporate clients and ultra-wealthy spectators who had little connection to the sport.
The event was plagued with issues from the outset. Manhole covers along the circuit caused major safety concerns, leading to extensive delays and a disastrous practice session that left fans feeling cheated. Many ticket holders were even sent home before any meaningful action took place. The focus on luxury entertainment over the racing experience led to widespread backlash. Traditional fans criticised the event as a money-grabbing spectacle, prioritising celebrity endorsements and high-rolling clientele over the actual motorsport competition.
This trend is not unique to Las Vegas. Similar problems have emerged at other newly introduced Grand Prix events, including Miami and Saudi Arabia, where the focus on corporate entertainment overshadows the racing itself. Meanwhile, traditional venues such as Hockenheim (Germany), Sepang (Malaysia), and even the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa have either lost their races or faced financial instability due to F1's preference for wealthier locations.
Profit Over Passion
F1’s exclusivity is not just a byproduct of circumstance but a result of deliberate commercial decisions prioritising profit over inclusivity. The sport’s governing bodies and major investors have shifted F1 from an engineering-driven competition to a global entertainment franchise, often alienating its core fanbase in the process. Since acquiring F1 in 2017, Liberty Media has aggressively commercialised the sport, focusing on spectacle over substance. The rise of Netflix’s Drive to Survive has brought in new viewers, but it has also reshaped the sport’s narrative, prioritising entertainment over racing purity.
Despite F1’s push for sustainability, many teams still rely on sponsorship from oil giants and financial conglomerates, including deals with Aramco (Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company), Petronas (Malaysia), and Shell (Netherlands). These commercial ties keep the sport locked into an economic system that prioritises elite investment over accessibility. Multiple teams signed lucrative deals with cryptocurrency firms, some of which collapsed (e.g., Mercedes' partnership with FTX), leaving unpaid debts and tarnished reputations. Many of these companies are linked to regimes with poor human rights records, further highlighting F1’s hypocrisy in championing progressive values while accepting money from authoritarian sponsors.
Despite F1’s push for sustainability, many teams still rely on sponsorship from oil giants and financial conglomerates, including deals with Aramco (Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company), Petronas (Malaysia), and Shell (Netherlands). These commercial ties keep the sport locked into an economic system that prioritises elite investment over accessibility. Multiple teams signed lucrative deals with cryptocurrency firms, some of which collapsed (e.g., Mercedes' partnership with FTX), leaving unpaid debts and tarnished reputations. Many of these companies are linked to regimes with poor human rights records, further highlighting F1’s hypocrisy in championing progressive values while accepting money from authoritarian sponsors.
Can F1 Ever Be a Sport for Everyone?
Formula 1 has always been an expensive sport, but its increasing exclusivity risks alienating the very fans who made it popular. From the rising cost of attending races to the financial barriers preventing working-class drivers from making it to the grid, F1 has become a playground for the rich. If the sport continues on its current trajectory, it risks becoming completely disconnected from its historic fanbase.
Ultimately, these financial and accessibility barriers prevent F1 from achieving the level of global influence and widespread passion that sports like football enjoy, keeping it confined to an elite niche rather than a truly universal sport.
Ultimately, these financial and accessibility barriers prevent F1 from achieving the level of global influence and widespread passion that sports like football enjoy, keeping it confined to an elite niche rather than a truly universal sport.
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